The water crisis is getting worse – the regime is considering drastic measures

Water crisis in Iran

“Countdown to national disaster”

Iran’s water crisis continues to worsen, and in many places taps are turned off at night. Now the regime is even considering evacuating the capital.

Iran’s water crisis is reaching dramatic proportions. According to reports in the state daily newspaper “Ettelaat”, several reservoirs in the country are on the verge of complete drought. “The countdown to national disaster has begun,” the newspaper warned in an editorial.

In the capital Tehran and in the central provinces, water levels in many reservoirs have fallen to the so-called “dead volume” – water that can no longer be used. The country’s underground groundwater reservoirs are also threatened with total drought due to over-extraction. Therefore, the country will soon be threatened with a complete collapse of oil reserves and a “severe drought”.

As Iran’s Energy Minister announced, in some areas of the country, including the metropolitan city of Tehran, the water was turned off at night and only turned back on the next morning. Communities must use water tanks and pumps to compensate for gaps in supply.

In larger apartment complexes, authorities have asked residents to store water in bathtubs and containers. Water closures overnight until the next morning have begun in several areas of Tehran. Storing water is now part of everyday life, especially for flushing toilets.

Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian this week warned of drastic rationing of water supplies if there is no rain next month. If there is a prolonged dry season, he will even consider evacuating the capital Tehran, which has a population of around 15 million.

However, according to observers, the evacuation was only a rhetorical announcement and had no real potential for implementation. Moving the capital will take years, even decades, because all central authority and the jobs of the majority of the population are in Tehran. Therefore, this action is almost impossible for the majority of Tehran’s population.